The present invention pertains to protective devices for protecting against needle-stick injuries by a medical catheter or needle. More particularly, the invention pertains to a needle receptacle for use with needle assemblies of the type used by blood banks.
Needle sticks and other percutaneous injuries resulting in exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials continue to be of concern due to the high frequency of their occurrence and the severity of the health effects associated with exposure. At the time of this writing, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that healthcare workers in hospital settings sustain 384,325 percutaneous injuries involving contaminated xe2x80x9csharpsxe2x80x9d annually. When non-hospital healthcare workers are included, the best estimate of the number of percutaneous injuries involving contaminated sharps is nearly 600,000 per year.
When these injuries involve exposure to infectious agents (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV)), the affected workers are at risk for contracting disease. Workers may also suffer from adverse side effects of drugs used for post-exposure prophylaxis and from psychological stress due to the threat of infection following an exposure incident. Since publication of the Bloodbome Pathogens (BBP) standard, a wide variety of medical devices have been developed to reduce the risk of needle sticks and other sharps injuries.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,157 to Dillon et al. discloses a guard formed from plastic that has a top hingedly secured to the bottom. The guard is enclosed around the flexible tube of the needle assembly. Interlocking tabs hold the top and bottom of the guard together. The guard also has flexible protrusions extending into the guard""s interior that prevent the needle mount portion of the needle assembly from being removed from the guard once the needle and mount are inside.
Though likely to help reduce needle-stick injury and/or contact with blood exuded from the needle (xe2x80x98blood-splashxe2x80x99) during withdraw procedures, this device has several shortcomings. Its plastic hinge, flexible protrusions and tabs add to die cast manufacturing cost and can break during use as a result of stress forces. Another problem with the Dillon device is that it cannot be used with all bloodpack needle assemblies. Some manufacturer""s needle mounts do not fit between the top and bottom of Dillon""s device once the interlocking tabs are secured together. Coincidentally, the openings defined at both ends of the guard are not sufficiently sized to receive the needle mount of some manufacturers. Therefore,it is highly desirable to provide a new needle receptacle for use with needle assemblies of the type used by blood banks.
It is also highly desirable to provide a new needle receptacle that will reduce the number of needle sticks and percutaneous injuries.
It is also highly desirable to provide a new needle receptacle capable of use with standard bloodpack needle assemblies of all manufacturers and models.
It is also highly desirable to provide a new needle receptacle that does not have plastic interlocking tabs and protruding members that add to manufacturing costs and which may break due to stress forces.
It is finally highly desirable to provide a new needle receptacle that meets all of the above desired features.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a new needle receptacle for use with needle assemblies of the type used by blood banks.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a new needle receptacle that will reduce the number of needle sticks and percutaneous injuries.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a new needle receptacle capable of use with standard bloodpack needle assemblies of all manufacturers and models.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a new needle receptacle that does not have plastic interlocking tabs and protruding members that add to manufacturing costs and which may break due to stress forces.
It is finally an object of the invention to provide a new needle receptacle that meets all of the above desired features.
In the broader aspects of the invention, there is provided a needle receptacle for use with a needle assembly that has a needle mount with a forward end and a rearward end, a needle extending from the forward end of the needle mount and a flexible tube extending from the rearward end of the needle mount. The receptacle includes an elongated hollow body that has a front end and a rear end. The front end is open and sufficiently sized to permit the needle mount to pass axially through it. The rear end has a bore formed in it. The bore is sufficiently sized to permit the tube to pass axially through it. There is also an opening formed in the body between the front end and the rear end for receiving the needle mount and the needle so that the hollow body can be threaded with the needle assembly by way of the opening.